The Junipero Serra Padres will square off against the Saint Francis Lancers at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Junipero Serra's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three contests.
If Saint Francis heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Junipero Serra took over last week. Everything went the Padres' way against Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory on Saturday as they made off with a 34-14 win. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Padres' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Fightin' Irish are ranked 107th).
Andrew Takapautolo had a dynamite game, rushing for 152 yards and two TDs while picking up 8.9 yards per carry. Another back making a difference was Iziah Singleton, who rushed for 100 yards and one score.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Junipero Serra was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 292 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 97.7 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five matchups they've averaged 214.
Junipero Serra didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Malakai Taufoou and Lemani Fehoko.
Meanwhile, Saint Francis was not the first on the board on Friday, but they got there more often. They slipped by Archbishop Mitty 20-19. The victory continues a trend for the Lancers in their matchups with the Monarchs: they've now won three in a row.
Junipero Serra better keep an eye on Motu Keanaaina. He was instrumental in Saint Francis' win, rushing for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Keanaaina a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two). Max Haberlach also deserves some recognition as he hauled in his first receiving touchdown of the season.
The win got Junipero Serra back to even at 3-3. As for Saint Francis, their victory bumped their record up to 2-4.
Junipero Serra came up short against Saint Francis in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 27-21. Thankfully for the Padres, Kingston Keanaaina (who rushed for 323 yards and three TDs while picking up 9.5 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
